Thanks to European Regulation 2080/92 and to successive EU Rural Development Programmes (2000-2006 and 2007-2013), around 100 000 hectares of new forests have been planted in rural Italy over the last 20 years.

Due to a low level of knowledge of forestry management, the majority of the trees planted are broad-leaved species, which are unsatisfactory for wood production. The same problems also affected the short rotation plants (1- 2 years) for forestry biomass production; after a few production cycles have they were shown to be unsuitable, environmentally and economically.

In the mid 1990s, forestry researchers in France and in Italy began trials on poly-cycle forestry, with the aim of testing production cycles of different length on the same plots.
Results emphasised the positive effects, both in terms of wood production and the economic value of the forests, of associating on the same plots, short cycles (6-7 years), medium-term cycles (8-12 years) and long-term cycles (15-30 years).

Objectives

The main objective of the InBioWood project is to increase and protect biodiversity in areas where it has been adversely affected by intensive agriculture through the creation of permanent polycyclic plantations. A new type of system will be used that combines environmental benefits, very similar to those of a forest, with the productivity benefits of commercial plantations.

Specific objectives are to:

Increase the wood production potential of forestry plots;

Demonstrate that polycyclic plantations can increase the economic value of the forestry arrays;

Increase and protect biodiversity in agricultural areas;

Improve the water management and the drainage network, applying the same implantation criteria along the forestry rows;

Combine environmental benefits with improved income benefits for farmers.

Expected results:

Increased biodiversity thanks to the presence of many primary species and many secondary plants such as bushes or small forest plants;

Decreased use of fertiliser and pesticides in the plots management;

Increased CO2 sequestration thanks to the greatest number of plants per hectare;

Improved water management and reduced water use;

Around 2 500 hectares of demonstration plots established on open fields;

Consorzio di Bonifica Veronese is a public body that represents the land owners in the province of Verona. The consortium focuses on land reclamation, irrigation management, and water and hydraulic conservation. It operates over an area of around 158 000 hectares and employs about 200 people, who are mainly devoted to field work and operational activities.